So tonight's gig, much more of a concert really, took place in the Cour du Château de Colombiéres sur Orb, whch was a lovely setting for a gig if ever there was one!

We arrived just after 5:30pm giving me about and hour and a quarter to setup. A stage had been setup in the shadiest corner, which was great, the only thing that worried me about it was it was slightly high for me to step off if I went a wandering in the second set. Some slightly wobbly steps were found, so problem solved.

By the time 7:00pm came round the rest of the courtyard was mostly shaded by the surrounding buildings, and the audience started to fill up the seating that had been laid out. By 7:15 or so most seats were taken, time to play!

After a short intro from Lindsay my first acoustic set went well, sound was very good, a large tree stopped the courtyard from being too echoey, as did the reasonably sized audience! A couple of faces from Camplong, including Eric the Belgian, one or two I recognised from playing in Lamalou in earlier years, as well as many new faces.

The first set was well received, and I was better pleased with my attempts at french, but I doubt it was understandable! Plenty of people wanted to talk in the break, which is always a good sign, there seemed to quite a mix there, French of course, but also an Irish couple, and a couple from the States, who found the idea of going to see a blues gig in a small French village quite surreal, but were enjoying the music non the less, and of course many English (and at least one Scotsman).

To start the send set I decided to walk through the crowd and on to the stage playing the electric, the steps proved slightly wobbly, but I got up without mishap! On electric guitar this time as before and I got a few people dancing, before descending the wobbly steps again to perform a slow blues from B.B.King (How blue can you get), the loved it and immediately started clapping along as I transitioned into my own Mornin' Sun at the end.

Even better than the dancing a good proportion of the crowd sung along with Let The Good Times Roll my traditional last number, this is always a bit harder to achieve in France so I was well pleased with that. Finished up with Every Penny of the Deal for an encore.

After the concert tables were laid out an there was a meal for the for members of the association, myself included, Thérése, the owner of the Château had cooked a fabulous main dish for me, including aubergines cheese and tomatoes.

I think we had a little over 60 paying guests at the concert so quite a success on both side the money being shared 50/50 between the Association and myself. Many thanks to Lindsay and her husband Roger for all their hard work, and for their hospitality!

Next up Le Cheval Blanc, Plancoët, Brittany on Wednesday, but a couple of days exploring France first!

---